Global digital stars head to Turkey

Amid a number travel advisories set to weaken tourism to the region, the Turkish Airlines campaign taps the likes of Jerome Jarre and BubzBeauty.

U.K. based MCN Rightster has partnered with Turkish Airlines and the Turkish Tourism Board on a global travel campaign featuring top creators from YouTube, Vine, Snapchat and Facebook.

The campaign follows 10 digital stars, from multiple talent networks, as they fly to Istanbul and onto an additional “mystery” destination within the country. Together, participating creators have a total social following of more than 40 million. They include: French Viner and Snapchat star Jerome Jarre, German vlogger Sami Slimani, the U.K.’s beauty and lifestyle vlogger BubzBeauty (Lindy Tsang), as well as American filmmaker Casey Neistat.

The creators will each share their stories via video travelogues on YouTube. Early episodes, featuring the stars receiving their invitations, launched earlier this month.

Irfan Onal of the Turkish Tourism Board said in a statement the creators were all chosen for their wide reach among a young demographic.

“We hope that by working with them on this campaign we can inspire more people to visit Turkey,” he said of the strategy.

The campaign follows a 2014 #FortuneTraveller initiative, another Turkish Airlines project that was managed by Rightster. According to the MCN, that campaign delivered more than 10 million views. Additionally, Turkish Airlines’ YouTube channel had a 24% increase in subscribers.

The latest campaign also comes as Turkey, traditionally a popular destination among European travelers, braces for a major slump in its tourism industry. In 2014, the country saw 42 million foreign visitors and was ranked among theworld’s most-attractive tourism destinations, particularly among Germans and Russians, according to the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle. But on the heels of increased violence within the country — notably a recent suicide bombing in Ankara that killed 102 people — several countries have now issued travel warnings to its citizens, urging them to stay away.